The "Honest" Beta Deceived Day and Night by a Twisted Obsessive - Chapter 27

 Doing Something Wicked to the Photo 

Xie Ming didn’t dare call his own driver, fearing that his grandmother would track his movements. In the end, it was Xie Yun who came to pick him up.

Xie Ming was so drunk he couldn’t recognise anyone. When Duan Huaijing handed him over to Xie Yun, the latter gave him a brief, neutral look. “Thank you.”

Compared to the slumped figure beside him, Xie Yun stood perfectly upright. His gaze was calm and self-contained, as if nothing in the world could ruffle him. Under that stare, Duan Huaijing felt a wave of helpless exposure. Although he was the only one who knew what had happened at the vanity ten minutes prior, he couldn’t shake a gnawing sense of guilt.

He lowered his head, unable to meet Xie Yun’s eyes. Staring at the tips of his own shoes, he spoke in his usual timid voice. “You’re very welcome, Big Brother.” He played the part of the “honest man” perfectly, fitting the public’s impression of him to a tee.

“Get in. I’ll drop you off first.”

Duan Huaijing didn’t realise the offer was directed at him at first. After a two-second delay, he waved his hands frantically, stammering his refusal. “No, it’s fine. Thank you, Big Brother. I can make my own way back.”

Xie Yun tossed the drunken Xie Ming into the back seat and looked up at the darkening sky. “It’s late. It isn’t safe.”

Before he could finish, Xie Ming let out a mumble from the back, his hands flailing as if trying to stop someone. “It’s not like.” The words were faint, little more than a whisper, so only Xie Yun, who was standing closer, caught them.

Xie Ming had said: It’s not like he hasn’t got legs. He can go back by himself.

From Duan Huaijing’s perspective, it just looked like Xie Ming wanted to say something. He asked tentatively, “What did he say?”

In the next second, Xie Yun slammed the car door shut without blinking, cutting off the rest of the drunkard’s words.

Xie Yun’s expression remained unchanged. “He asked if you’d be alright going back alone.”

Duan Huaijing paused. He knew exactly what kind of person Xie Ming was; the chance of him showing genuine concern was about as likely as a comet hitting the Earth. It was blindingly obvious who had actually asked the question.

He looked down. The bite mark left by the “Eyes” was still there; even a slight touch sent a sharp sting through his finger. It was a private reminder, a constant nudge of what had happened just minutes ago.

A sudden wave of self-loathing and irritation washed over him. He didn’t want to be near Xie Ming, and he didn’t want to see Xie Yun. The latter’s gaze always made him feel transparent as if Xie Yun knew he’d met another man behind Xie Ming’s back, as if he knew exactly what the “Eyes” had done to him.

“I’ll be fine on my own. Thank him for me,” Duan Huaijing said, his voice trembling slightly.

Xie Yun watched him, remaining silent for a long moment. Their conversation had been framed around Xie Ming, but the night wind seemed to weave around them, tangling their thoughts like fallen leaves. After a few seconds, Xie Yun’s voice drifted through the cool air. “Very well. Get home safe.”

Just as Duan Huaijing nodded, his phone chimed. It was a video sent by his neighbour. Before even playing it, he knew exactly what it was from the thumbnail.

In the video, his mother and brother were dressed in expensive, flashy clothes that looked entirely out of place in the dilapidated tenement building. They were waving away the foul air with expressions of undisguised contempt. Duan Huaijing’s pupils contracted. He knew exactly why these two unwelcome guests had come looking for him.

When he’d been penniless, they’d called him a jinx. Now that he was earning money, they wanted to play the “vampire,” using the guilt of his birth to extort him. He felt no love for them, but the trauma of his childhood beatings was etched into his soul; the fingers he used to touch the video were shaking. A spark of fury flared in his chest for a split second; he wanted to take a knife and end it all for everyone in that video.

“Little brother, stay away for now,” his neighbour’s gruff voice said in the recording. “Don’t come back yet. There are people loitering outside your door.”

Duan Huaijing didn’t even remember how he replied. By the time his awareness returned, he had played the video several times. He felt like a stray dog with no home to return to, pathetically licking his wounds while wondering where on earth he could go.

Driven to his wit’s end, he thought of Xie Yun’s earlier suggestion of staying at the Xie house. He slowly looked up toward the Maybach.

Xie Yun was leaning against the car, a cigarette between his fingers. The glowing tip was a pinprick of red in the dark, and the faint smoke gave his features a hazy, ethereal quality. Sensing the gaze, Xie Yun’s eyes flicked toward him. Duan Huaijing looked away immediately, feeling as though he’d been caught red-handed.

“What’s wrong?” Xie Yun asked. Remembering that Duan Huaijing disliked the smell of smoke, he crushed the cigarette and waited a few moments for the scent to dissipate before approaching.

Duan Huaijing fidgeted, stammering. He wasn’t particularly thin-skinned, but he was trying to figure out how to pivot back to the offer of a bed without revealing his messy family secrets.

Xie Yun watched him for a few seconds, his gaze dropping briefly to the phone in Duan Huaijing’s hand.

” I just remembered. I think I left something at your house last time,” Duan Huaijing blurted out, his eyes darting away.

His original plan was to go to Xie Yun’s place late; he assumed that out of politeness, Xie Yun would ask him to stay the night, and he could accept “reluctantly.” But as soon as the words left his mouth, he realised how absurd it sounded. How many things could a man possibly lose? Was his entire life scattered across Xie Yun’s floor? It was such a flimsy excuse that he didn’t even believe it himself.

Xie Yun surely knew he was lying.

Ugh, why can’t my brain work properly?

The night wind felt heavy around them. For others, it was just a passing breeze; for him, it was a whirlpool of conflicting thoughts. He considered finding an internet café to huddle in—he needed to save money for his grandmother’s hospital discharge and his eventual escape. If all else failed, he could sleep on a park bench. He was a Beta, after all; surely no one would be interested in him.

Just as he was picking out a park in his head, Xie Yun broke the silence.

“It’s very late,” the man said, his voice low and soothing. “I’m taking Xie Ming back anyway. Why don’t you stay at my place for the night?” There was no command in his tone, only a calm suggestion that made refusal feel impossible.

Duan Huaijing wasn’t surprised that Xie Yun had sensed his distress, but the feeling of being completely seen by him made his heart flutter with a strange, inexplicable emotion. He had always been a complicated person, unable to express his true feelings, often saying the opposite of what he meant.

He had always assumed people helped him out of duty or for show. He’d even thought Xie Yun’s previous help was just to protect the Xie family reputation. He tried to keep his heart as hard as stone, but hearing Xie Yun’s patient invitation felt like a child being handed a jar of sweets.

Xie Yun let out a sigh that was lost in the wind, then raised his hand. Duan Huaijing instinctively wanted to flinch, but he forced himself to stand his ground. He didn’t want to be ungrateful. He felt a sudden warmth at the back of his neck as the wind was blocked out.

Confused, Duan Huaijing reached back, and Xie Yun gentlemanly guided his hand to the spot. His fingers brushed against his own clothes, he realised Xie Yun had pulled up his hood for him.

He looked up, meeting Xie Yun’s eyes just as the man let go. Duan Huaijing looked like a small, startled creature hiding in the brush, his hood framing his face and adding to his fragile, pitiable appearance.

“Let’s go,” Xie Yun said.

Duan Huaijing followed, blinking in a daze. Did he just. pat my head?

Duan Huaijing was put in the same room he’d stayed in before. Everything was exactly where he remembered it. He reached for the hairdryer, but his gaze fell upon his finger. The bite mark had faded like snow covering tracks on the ground. The mark was gone, but the memory remained.

Irritation flared in his chest. He put the hairdryer down and began scrubbing at the spot obsessively. He’d already washed it several times in the shower, but it still felt “wrong.” He scrubbed until the skin was raw and red, but he couldn’t stop.

A knock at the door broke his trance. The adrenaline ebbed away, and he turned toward the door. “Who is it?” he asked, trying to sound normal.

“It’s me,” Xie Yun replied. “Are you asleep?”

“Not yet.” Duan Huaijing dragged himself to the door, checking the room for any signs of his breakdown before opening it.

Xie Yun looked him over. “When we got out of the car, I noticed” He stopped mid-sentence, his gaze landing on the startlingly red skin of Duan Huaijing’s finger.

Duan Huaijing felt a pang of guilt and tried to curl his fingers out of sight.

“Did you put any ointment on that?”

Duan Huaijing lowered his head like a child who’d been caught misbehaving. “No.”

“Why not?” Xie Yun’s voice was low and gentle, but the question felt pressing, like a sponge being squeezed until there was no air left. It was a soft kind of control.

“I’ll help you.”

Before Duan Huaijing could object, he heard the click of an ointment cap being removed. Xie Yun was serious. He wanted to hide his hand, but Xie Yun was a step ahead.

A warmth spread across the back of his hand as Xie Yun took hold of it. The touch sent a shiver through him. He tried to pull away, but Xie Yun’s grip was firm despite its gentleness. Xie Yun applied the cream with meticulous care, looking up to ask softly, “Does it hurt?”

Duan Huaijing was caught staring. He tried to look away, but Xie Yun’s gaze followed him. In that moment, the man’s eyes darkened with a surge of possessive intensity. While his mouth asked if it hurt, his mind was wondering what it would feel like to bite him again.

“It doesn’t hurt,” Duan Huaijing whispered. It actually felt a bit itchy. He tried to withdraw his hand, a hint of suppressed misery in his voice. “Stop touching it.”

Xie Yun ignored the protest, rubbing the ointment in smoothly. “What’s wrong?”

The gesture was so tender, so full of genuine concern, that it felt like being comforted after a fall. Duan Huaijing was used to getting back up on his own. He was used to the “Eyes” leaving marks on him. He thought he was numb to it all, but being asked “Does it hurt?” brought a sudden, bitter lump to his throat.

He sniffed quietly, his voice breaking. “It’s dirty.”

His fingers were pale, his nails neatly trimmed and healthy. The ointment gave them a soft glow. Xie Yun paused. “It’s not dirty.”

Standing in the shadows, Xie Yun used the darkness to hide the predatory hunger in his eyes. He imagined the ointment was his own saliva, his own marks. His teeth ached with the urge to bite down.

Duan Huaijing, unaware of the monster watching him, felt a strange shiver. “This part is fine,” he said timidly, trying to pull back.

Xie Yun released him, his gaze remaining fixed on the boy. It was a vacant, unfocused stare, as if he were mentally peeling back Duan Huaijing’s skin to taste what was underneath.

“You can always come to me if you need anything,” Xie Yun said, slowly capping the ointment.

Duan Huaijing took it as a polite platitude, but also a sort of safety net. Always come to… him? He looked up, a sudden thought striking him.

Does Xie Yun know? Does he mean I can even come to him about the “Eyes”?

****

Back in his own room, the tenderness Xie Yun had shown vanished. He stood still, staring at his own hands for a long time. Then, he went to the sink and washed them with a cold, serious expression. To anyone else, he would look like he was brooding over a business deal. In reality, he was replaying every second of his interaction with Duan Huaijing.

His memory was a storage vault. He tucked away every tiny habit and expression Duan Huaijing had shown, ready to take them out and admire them later.

He leaned back against his headboard and picked up a photograph. If Duan Huaijing saw it, he would wonder when it was even taken. Xie Yun remembered perfectly. It was from the time Duan Huaijing had sprained his ankle. He had given the boy a glass of milk laced with a sedative, then used the spare key to enter the room once he was under.

He had stood by the bed like a parasite, watching him for hours. He’d been so moved by that defenseless, beautiful face that he’d taken the photo. In it, Duan Huaijing’s lashes were dark against his pale skin, and his lips were slightly parted like a ripe fruit.

He had many such photos, stolen glimpses of Duan Huaijing at the hospital, at work, at the amusement park. He was addicted.

Duan Huaijing didn’t love him yet, but that didn’t matter. He could keep him locked away until he did. The “cage” he was building for him was almost complete. He imagined Duan Huaijing in the space he’d designed, the cat ears, the tail, the silk ropes, the bells…

His hand moved faster. The fantasy of Duan Huaijing wearing his “gifts” brought him to a sudden, staggering peak.

The photograph was splattered with a white stain, landing right across the innocent face of the boy in the picture. The “moisture” slid down toward the corner of the boy’s mouth.

Xie Yun let out a long, satisfied sigh. He ignored himself and reached for a tissue to carefully wipe the photo clean.

“Now, baby isn’t clean either.”

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